Hope to the Fallen
by Bakuda
Summary: This goes to all Giver's of Hope. When a few poor orphan's aren't expecting anything for Christmas this year, they try to look on the bright side. But what happens when one of them, the youngest, asks a favor of Santa? Christmas One-Shot. Merry Christmas!


Disclaimer: I do not own the following: Sonic the hedgehog, Dragonball Z, Prince of Persia (the Dagger of time), Batman (the car looks like the Bat-Mobil), Pokémon (Lugia's ocarina); (I will add more when the time comes.)

Claimer: Bakuda, Dakuba, Dawn, Aura, Tara, Karnak, Adam, Sevra, 'The Universal Gods', Creculo the hedge-fox and Twilight the hedge-fox I own. Bakuda was a 'spur-of-the-moment' name a friend and I created for an online game in 1999. I used the name for every game/story character ever since. If you spot anything that may be discreetly connected to another Anime/book/TV show, ECT, it is purely coincidence and not intentional.

I do not own the following OC's: Kyle the Kitsune, Serina the Kitsune, Zephyr the Fox/Wolf, Sayjax the Hedgehog.

I only own half of the character known as 'Zephkuda' (Tournament to Test the Gods); the other half belongs to 'The-Blue-Zephyr.'

**Dedicated to the 'Giver's of Hope'**

**The ones that 'Give children a future' and 'Override Sorrow with Joy'.**

Deep in the reaches of the slums of Station Square, stood a short dull brick building that seemed like it had been built since the beginning of the towns foundation, yet had not been maintained to a proper standard and fell into slight ruin over the years because of its neglect. It wasn't known by many, if you saw it on the street while walking past then you would hardly even recognise its existence unless of course you were either looking for it or already knew of it.

Yet this building was important, this was the home of a few children all about the age of five that had been either passed from home to home without a single care for their wellbeing or to just be abandoned by the world by the passing away of their beloved parents. These children were orphans.

The building was lined with the white fluffy substance that formed from small pieces of frozen water, more commonly referred to as Snow. This time of year was special to all of the children in Station Square apart from these few. It was the night before the holiday, Christmas.

You would think these kids had nothing much to celebrate about, what's the point if you don't have your family to share it with? Well, you're kind of wrong, yet right at the same time. They all wished for a mother and father to take them in to a proper home, yet at times like these they turned to each other and made the best gifts they could out of things they found, then gave them to each other. To them, all of them were family. Each and every one a brother or sister to the next.

Inside was a long bedroom lined with rusted iron bed, six in total. The Orphanage didn't have many funds to go by so they couldn't afford a lot of things for the children. If they had a brother or sister they could sleep with, then they slept in the same bed. No questions asked.

Sitting on the bed nearest the door happened to be two little vulpine's, on a Fox and the other a Vixen. They looked like twins, both the same age and species. The pair both had a shiny red pelt, along with the pure white furred stomachs, muzzle and tail tip. Yet the odd things for these two were the black tipped ears and black feet and paws. The black fur became red just before their elbows and knees. About an inch away or so. Their muzzle's and ears were also longer than a normal Mobian's.

The reason for this is because they were born from an experiment, their mother having been put through several tests and experiments by a deranged doctor to see if a vixen could reproduce with an earthen fox. The result was Tod and Vixie, the two orphans' that had escaped the doctor shortly after their birth by crawling the air vents out, led by their mother. Sadly, the mother had died of complications before getting to safety completely, the police finding a dead vixen next to two newborns.

Tod wore just a simple red t-shirt over his top half and a pair of white shorts. These were not his choice in clothing however; he was given what they had. Vixie on the other hand was given a light red dress; it was a one piece article of clothing that has straps for the shoulders and a skirt that went down to her knees. Vixie had long red hair down to her waist, slight ruffled and matted since they couldn't shower all the time. Yet tonight they all had one because of the holiday. Tod's was short and unruly, many short bangs falling over his fringe and just barley to his eyes, also a deep crimson colour.

The bed to the left of the pair laid a simple golden yellow feline, a short tail sticking out of his tattered blue jeans from the Salvation Army. He wore a blue vest with yellow rimming around the edges, it laid just over a bare chest, showing his rather frail frame. The feline had short whiskers on his light yellow, almost cream, muzzle. His sea green eyes were closed off from view, his eyes closed while he tried to get some sleep. His rough and slightly spiky blond hair matted against his pillow. He was the child that had been dumped by his own mother at a railway station and left to fend for himself at the mere age of two! He was found later by the police and brought into foster care, yet every single one he went to only wanted money for keeping him! Once the money ran out, they shipped him to another. Eventually he was just placed here... His name is Dylan.

The bed after him was three small felines, all different ages. Three, Four and Five years of age. These girls were caught in the captivity of a man using them for his own desires. They had never known their real parent's but the Police expected that they had been kidnapped. Since then, they have lived here. They had been there the second longest, waiting for a parent to come and collect them. To give them all a home... yet none came. Each one wore a grey dress that they had worn when serving their 'master' before, the orphanage seeing no need to waste money when they had already good clothing. The youngest, Kairi, couldn't even speak when she came in. The man that had them not caring if she would learn or not. Only by the teaching of the other orphan's did she begin to start, now able to use basic sentences. The two eldest, Kayra and Kara, were capable of English that they learnt from others. Each of these girls had pure white fur over their bodies, they could be naked in a white room and you couldn't see them. Their eyes a midnight blue except for Kairi's, which were a light green. They had shoulder length hair of the same white; they tried to keep it tidy when they could since if they were caught untidy they would have been punished. This was hardwired into their minds... it was hard to break.

The next one over was inhabited by a 5 year old Fox/Wolf, she had been there the longest of them all... in fact she had been raised there ever since she was placed on their doorstep one night five years ago, they named her Xera. They could never find the real parent for her by blood sample, yet she was considered a threat by many in politics. The cause for this being the fact that if she wanted to, she could lift the entire building with her own two hands! Her strength and general martial arts skill very uncommon, she had to hide it so the people that did see her once show off seemed like they were lying to everyone. She wore a silver coloured shirt with white jeans over her shimmery grey fur. Her onyx black eyes staring at the ceiling, like she had a lot on her mind.

After her bed was one currently holding a sleeping form of an emerald green vixen, all her body but her tail tip, chest fur and muzzle were this colour. Even her eyes shone a brilliant deep green. She was abused by her parent's by experimenting with false Chaos Emeralds. She used to have a dull grey fur until she was constantly put into contact with Chaos Energy. They never named her daughter before the Police took her from her birth parents, so all the other kids named her 'Emerald', which she ironically said that it suited her. She wore a simple green coloured dress that went to her waist then branched out slightly too all sides.

The very last was occupied by two napping kitsune's, they weren't very common around and hence the reason they never were considered for adoption by parent's. Each of them had three long tails extruding from their rears, yet these two had different colours. The male was a metallic silver, his clothing consisting of an aviator's jacket of a lighter silver colour and a long pair of brown long trousers. The female was a light pink vixen that wore a light blue top that showed half her stomach, being too small for her. She also wore a skirt of the same colour, like many of the others this being given by the Salvation Army. Both of these two kitsune's were found on the street, having no idea who or where their parents were. They were a complete mystery... But they were easily accepted by the other kids in the orphanage rather quickly.

Mostly all the kids were asleep, yet for a select few. Kairi was the only one of her sister's to be awake, she whimpered in response to her own thoughts and looked to the ceiling, lying on her back next to her sisters; _"Swanta? Can you hwear mes? Can you pweeeeease come to the Orphwanidge dis year? I couldn't make vewy gwood pressies dis year. Xera made cwookies! But I cwan't wive her anyting dat good... Can you pwlease come and give us a good pwessie? I won't ask for anything else again! Pwromise!" _she asked in her head, having used her own projected thoughts like she spoke. She often mixed up words with 'w's when trying to speak, still learning how to talk properly and making it hard for people to understand her.

To her surprise, someone answered.

_"If you ask, you shall receive."_

Kairi blinked in confusion and sat up in her bed, catching something with her eye when she sat up slowly. With slight difficulty, she looked out the window above her bed and gasped, yet it ended in a squeal of delight and joy. She came back down and rocked her sister awake, along with shouting to get the other's to wake up; "SWANTA CAME! SWANTA CAME!" she screamed happily. Immediately all the children scrambled to their own windows, gasping at the sight. Around their windows and along the very building where they occupied, were Christmas lights and decorations that all up would probably cost thousands to import and hundred to use in the power bill. But that wasn't the only thing that made them grab a hopeful grin to plant on their faces. What they were so buoyant about happened to be the fact two people were standing at the front door...

The middle aged hedgehog that took as the caretaker walked in her nightie to the front door with an irritated look on her face, until she opened the door and came to face a female feline of black fur and purple streaks going down her hair and limbs. This cat was slightly shorter in the usual size that her brethren took but her ears and tail took up for this. Her tail was at least twice as long as her full body, ending in a fluffy puffed out fuzz in the shade of white. Her hair was a pitch black like her fur, falling down the sides of her face yet the left side mostly covering her kind onyx black eyes. She was over twenty years old, but looked like she had a body of a teenager by her complexion, her clothing giving away the sense that she wouldn't dress like an adult either. She wore a black dress with a short skirt attachment over long black baggy trousers. To be a bit playful, she also wore a little leather tag collar a normal cat would wear, the word; 'Sevra' imprinted on the front silver pendant that hanged from it.

There was a man standing next to the feline, a rather tall red hedgehog with quills pointing out diagonally to all sides. Like the female near him, he too had streaks up his arm and legs, as well as his quills. Yet instead of a deep purple, he had an almost blood red that was a tone darker to the crimson fur he had over his body. What was odd about him however was that he had an ordinary tail... for a cat. A thin feline tail sticking from his rear, along with large cat like ears sticking from the top of his head. He wore a black jerkin, which looked like a medieval leather vest, around his shoulders. It was strange to see this type of clothing in the modern age but not unheard of. The woman that answered the door was slightly unnerved more by the young hedgehog since a katana in a black scabbard was resting calmly on his left side.

Sevra smiled warmly at the woman before her, her smile could make anyone comfortable; "Hello Miss, we just saw the lights. Impressive display! But are any of the kids awake? Sayjax and I were going to try for our own but we could use a bit of practice with a child to care for. Plus it would be great if he or she could teach the baby things we can't." She explained.

The male that was now explained to be Sayjax, nodded slowly; "Yeah, So are they awa- Ah, there they are." He said calmly, but his tone turned lightly upon seeing three little faces poke out of the bedroom door. Kairi, Kara and Kayra had come to investigate and upon finding the two adults standing at the door, they couldn't help but let their hopes soar to the skies.

Without waiting for the woman's reply, Sevra bent down to their level and waved to them merrily; "Hello, What's your names?" she asked kindly. Not ones to ignore an adult, they immediately filed out in a line and stopped in front of them all, their heads bowed and staring to the ground with slight frowns on their faces. The last time they saw a full grown man, standing next to Sevra, he was giving orders and punishments if they weren't followed. In their mind, they were dead scared of him.

Sevra stared at the three with slight confusion but it soon turned to that of anger, glaring up at the woman from where she knelt; "Did you tell them to act this obedient?" she asked dangerously, it was plainly obvious to the care-taker not to cross this girl or there would be someone getting hurt... badly.

The woman looked affronted, never had she heard such a thing from a young lady like this. She was into discipline and was pleased to see the toddler's have good manners to who she believed to be their superiors. Of course, she knew that saying that she approved of this wasn't going to score any health care points toward her injuries she would suffer if she did so; "No, they were in slavery before we picked them up." She explained, believing this to be a valid excuse for their behaviour.

The frown on Sevra's face instantly melted to one that would suit the face of a person sitting at the bedside of a permanently ill friend that had been with him or her for all their life. The youngest, Kairi, took a quick glance upward at the woman before her with the same frown on her face. Her eyes fragile while looking at her, a pleading expression on her face that told the adult female what to do... What was right.

Sevra leant forward without permission of the caretaker and brought Kairi into a gentle embrace, Kairi had her eyes widen in shock at the gesture but it was more than she could have hoped for, immediately returning the hug with equal enthusiasm.

Sayjax smiled and bent down next to his wife, his eyes set on the two other girls. Kara and Kayra gave him a quick glance at each other while still bowing slightly, then to their younger sister. The deep feeling that they had only wished to arrive began swelling in their hearts. To Sayjax's great joy, the pair jumped onto him and purred instantly, their arms clinging to his waist. The male hedgehog grinned widely and took them into his arms, keeping them close to him while his own heart increased its beat but it wasn't noticeable. It only produced a very warm feeling in his chest, making him believe that this was the best car-stop they had ever made.

The two looked to the astonished caretaker with a large smile on their faces, their arms still holding the cubs close to them while small purrs escaped the kid's small forms; "We'll take them. Where do we sign?" they asked in union, almost like they could read each other's thoughts and had this practiced.

The Caretaker only nodded once, trying to hide her shock at the sudden decision of adoption. She ran quickly upstairs to the main bedroom to fetch her clipboard with the children's names and the paper's required to adopt them. Only in a matter of seconds did she arrive back with the necessary paper work, it took much less time for the eager new parent's to sign all three separate papers.

A few of the kids from the bedroom were looking of the crack to the new family just as the Caretaker validated the signatures. Dylan was nearest to the door and whispered through to Kairi, a large smile on his face at the thought of three of them going to a good home... On Christmas Eve! The young feline looked at the white toddler near the door; "Hey Kairi, I heard you murmuring something before all this happened. What did you say?" he asked curiously.

The little white cat looked at the crack and giggled childishly; "I wasked Swanta for a pwessie! You do it twoo!" she spoke softly, perhaps over time Sevra and Sayjax could teach her better English so she didn't slur her words.

Dylan and the kids listening gave rapid nods, each had heard the legends of Santa and how he gave presents to good girls and boys. Maybe they could each get a good home?

Sevra bent down and picked up Kairi the moment after, not seeing the young children behind the door; "Okay sweetie, ready to go home?" she asked kindly, holding Kairi like she was a newborn baby.

The little kit giggled at the aspect and nodded vigorously; "Yes Momma!" she cried happily, burying her face into the fur on Sevra's neck, causing Sevra to laugh and cuddle her affectionately while walking outside to their car, Sayjax, Kara and Kayra shortly following behind.

Dylan and the other kids started walking back to their beds slowly, but the golden furred feline couldn't help but take the little girl's advice to heart while he jumped back onto his own rusted bed; _"Okay, here goes. Dear Santa, I wish for a family this Christmas. Just someone that won't care if I give money to those who adopt me. To love me like a real son. That's all I want, if you can make it true... Can you? Please?" _he thought while staring at the ceiling. He didn't hear a single noise or sound that could be placed out of the ordinary so he placed that wish into the 'Crushed Hopes' box he hid away in his brain. That was until a voice filled his mind with a mere five words.

"_Your wish shall be granted."_

The young feline couldn't place the voice until a loud sound filled the air, sounding suspiciously like a curse word, along with an almighty 'BANG!' like it came from a shotgun. It turned out to be from a blown tire from a red convertible spider, the person standing in front of the busted wheel was a rather tall white cat with a medium length, swishing tail. An annoyed expression on this cat's face turned to the female purple cat in the shotgun seat, she wore white pants with a purple coat. Her fur itself was more of a violet colour than purple; her hair tied back into three long strips of hair however was a deep purple tinge. The feline's eyes turned to the male in frustration; "This car is new! I knew I shouldn't have gotten it from that dealer." She muttered.

The white cat shook his head slowly, the exact thing passing through his mind; "They didn't even give us a spare. Stay here Blaze, I'm going to see if I can lend one from this place." He muttered. Anger plain in his voice from the bad deal that he had received.

'Blaze' didn't seem to appreciate that idea but sighed irritably and got out of the car all the same; "No Riku, I'm going with you. Who knows what kind of people are out here?" She said softly, looking up and down the street like she expected to see someone jump from an alleyway.

The white feline known as Riku shrugged at the proposition, although he was pleased. They only recently got married but still found he liked to spend most of his time in her presence than anywhere else. But before they could take a step toward the building, Dylan stuck his head out the window to get a better look, it seemed impossible to him that they could break down here when he knew a solution to their problem; "Hey! The spare tire is under the car, near the back left wheel." He explained, calling out to them.

Riku turned to the kid with a raised eyebrow in confusion. How could this kid know more about their car then they did? He walked up to the window suspiciously, even if he was just a mere child; "How would you know kid?" he asked calmly, but staring into his eyes like he was trying to detect a lie from him.

Dylan gulped once under the gaze, feeling very uncomfortable at this distance from him, yet he tried to hold his ground and answer the questions given to him; "I used to have a car dealer as a foster parent. He only wanted money too so he kicked me out after the sixth week." He explained softly, the past of which he had experienced flashing back briefly. Hence why he never liked reliving it, unless told to explain why he knew certain things.

Blaze blinked in confusion of the statement, not understanding how such a little kid could be booted out from a home after a mere six weeks. She bucked under the car to check for the spare tire but in reality it was only to hide her calculations on the matter; _"I wonder who he is... That is an orphanage I hear but I never gave it much thought. I might have a talk with Riku, who knows?" _she figured before grabbing something through the darkness of the car's underbelly. With ease she took off the spare tire from its rack, dragging it from behind the car.

Riku turned to his wife and found that the spare tired was indeed there, he turned to the kid in appreciation and gave a small smile to him; "Thanks kid, saves us going around looking. See ya round maybe." He waved and went over to Blaze, that smile that he had moments ago fading when he saw the face on Blaze's face. It was a calculating look that pierced his soul and glared into his very being; "What?" he asked softly, not liking the feeling he was receiving from her.

Blaze looked at her husband then to Dylan, who was watching in interest and trying to find out what they were saying. The female feline sighed softly before speaking so softly even Riku had trouble hearing the words spoken; "Look Honey, he must be one of the orphan's here... I want to adopt him. I'm going in to go get the adoption papers. I can tell you already like him. I'll be right back." She said hurriedly and let go of the tire, immediately rushing into the open building and scaring the living daylights out of the Caretaker.

Dylan caught some of the words and beamed at the male adult feline, he couldn't believe his wish was going to come true! His tail began flicking back and forth lazily behind him, obvious that he was daydreaming of being with a loving family. Yet he had to make sure; "Are you going to adopt me?" he asked curiously, but he already knew the answer. If his wife was so sure, why wouldn't h-

The white feline took one glance at Dylan before turning to his car and replacing the tire, hot a care in the world in his mind as he did so but he wasn't so rude as to not answer; "No."

Just that word. Just that word was all that was needed for Dylan's heart to shatter into a million pieces. He was just told he wasn't going to be going to sleep in a warm bed and tucked in like every other child should on Christmas Eve. He wasn't going to wake up to present's in the morning with a warm hug from his mom. He wasn't going to play with his new toys with his dad all day. His Christmas wasn't coming. He wasn't going to be adopted.

Blaze came rushing back out with a piece of paper in her left hand, a pen in the other. She had a rather large smile on her face as she approached Riku. Conveniently the male cat just finished the refitting of the tire; "Okay, I've signed so all you need to do is sign and we get a lovely little boy for our own, hey Dylan." She laughed, waving at the golden kit who didn't even notice, staring at the ground in sorrow and then sunk back into the building and closing the shutter.

Riku stood up from his work and got in the car without a word; "I'm not adopting him. If I am to raise a child it would be mine. Not someone else's. That's how the world works; this isn't about fairy tales and all that Christmas Miracles. He will go to a good family soon enough but not ours. I'm. Not. Signing." He said bluntly, staring straight ahead with his eyes narrowed, this was his final answer.

Blaze, The guardian of the Sol Emeralds, was just denied the chance to have her own son. But she couldn't without Riku's signature or approval since you needed to have a partner to adopt from there. She walked over to the other side of the car but still held onto the paperwork just in case she could change his mind later by some kind of miracle. She knew Riku didn't change his mind easy, but she had to try.

As soon as she got in the car, Riku shot off like a bullet in the spider, speeding up the street while almost breaking the speed limits. His own thoughts were racing even faster than his car however; _"He will be fine. It's not like he and I share anything in common anyway." _He thought to himself, finding it a valid excuse to not raise the boy with his wife. But without his consent, an image filled his mind. It was of Dylan as a younger boy than he was now, staring at a few boys playing in a park near the house he currently resided. He got off the seat he was sitting on and moved over to the group of boys playing a game of Softball, hoping to join in on their game.

Dylan waved to them and ran over the rest of the way, trying to look eager; "Hey guys! Can I play too?" he asked excitedly, praying that they would allow him to be in one of their teams.

The main pitcher, a lion, walked over to the cub to try and get a look at the speaker but upon the sight of the scrawny boy he just scoffed and went back to his position without another word.

The golden cat raised an eyebrow at the gesture and repeated his question, only for the batter to push him over roughly and onto his bottom; "Beat it kid, we got a game playing." He replied gruffly, turning back to the pitcher and resuming their game. Getting the hint he couldn't play, he moved to a group of boys on a nearby picnic table doing arm wrestles. He wasn't very good but he asked to play anyway.

The panther that was currently the champion looked at the boy with a large smirk; "Almighty boy, get up on the seat and show me what you've got." He encouraged, waiting for the young boy to actually stand on his seat to grasp the panther's hand. Dylan had a large smile on his face, not realising what he got into... that is until he felt his arm being pulled out of its socket! He grasped his dead arm in severe pain, his cries and sobs drowned out by the laughter of the older boys in the group. One of them even had the nerve to push the boy off the chair so he could have a go.

The young pup instantly got up and ran off to his home in tears. Yet what he expected wasn't the best, instead of the welcoming arms of a mother was an old bat, literally. The senile fruit bat looked at the boy in confusion until she saw his dead arm; "What happened? Did you get into another fight AGAIN?! Go to your room!" she yelled a little too loudly, snickers from the boys that inflicted this to him laughing at the situation Dylan was placed in.

Dylan looked at the ground and sniffled, tears running down his face as he held his badly aching arm. He let out a few words that brought reality back to the white feline behind the wheel; "Why can't people accept me instead of trying to hurt me?"

This was enough. Riku knew what had to be done, his teeth gritted together and eyes narrowed dangerously...

The screech of brakes and the outcry of a surprised cat echoed through the night, Riku's foot planted to the brake pedal until it touched the floor. He turned to Blaze slowly, who had her fur sticking up from the wind the sudden stop had created; "Honey, I'm sorry about that. Do you still have the papers?" he asked softly, looking into her eyes with his own. His voice sounded the same as it had before, yet a slightest hint of remorse inside it but it was hardly noticeable.

The female princess was shocked at the sudden change but welcomed it openly, quickly handing him the papers and the pen before Riku had a chance to change his mind. She didn't need to, since Riku signed the paper quickly and dropped the pen, he didn't care about if he had done so because he grabbed the wheel and did a very quick U-Turn, this time Blaze was ready for it and hung onto the bottom of the seat while the car did a complete 180 degree turn. This was one of the reason's she loved him, he always ended up doing the right thing and in a way that was completely unexpected and wild.

Back at the orphanage, Dylan was inside his bed, under the cover's and letting tears stain it's underside. He never answered any questions of what happened to any of the other kids. He merely cried his heart out silently under the supposed safety of his blankets, trying to shut out the world and with the childish thinking of 'If I can't see them, they can't see me.' But a few moments later, a soft rocking came from outside the bed, a warm yet firm hand grasping his shoulder to rock him gently. Dylan was in no mood for the Caretaker so he lifted off the cover's to tell her to go away. Yet the words came stuck in his throat when he saw not the Caretaker, but the man who said he wasn't going to adopt him!

Riku smiled warmly and bent down to his level slowly as not to scare the kit, Blaze standing right behind the male as he tried to talk to him; "Hey Dylan, I'm sorry about earlier. I make hasty decisions. Your mom and I have talked about it and we have decided we want you to come home with us. So, want to join the family?" he asked softly, he wanted to give this kid as much choice as you could give but it wasn't needed... Since Dylan immediately leapt from the bed and onto Riku's chest with a grin slowly coming into existence on his face. He couldn't believe what just happened, but he accepted it all the same with joy in his heart.

The white male feline was put off by the sudden tackle-hug but decided that if he was going to be a father, might as well start now. He wrapped his arms around the small child in a warm embrace while placing his right hand under him to lift him up. Without a word to break the moment, the white feline merely stood up while holding him as carefully as possible and began to move out. But before the new family came out of earshot from the astonished children, Dylan said rather softly but loud enough for them to hear;"Thank You Santa." He whispered.

Crimson and Ryik took a glance at each other in both confusion and shock, they could not believe what had just occurred to their friend. Even if they were joyful of their friend's adoption, yet they were also curious of what Kairi has said earlier about Santa. They too had been informed of the gifts that were given to the innocent girls and boys of the world, given by a large man in a red suit that came to their homes in a red sleigh pulled by several reindeers. Ryik looked to the ceiling, he wouldn't let this opportunity pass him by if he could help it; _"Dear Santa, I wish this Christmas for my friends and I to have a Family to go home to. To have a warm bed and a hot meal every night while tucked in by our mom, read a story by our dad. Please, give us a home." _He begged in his thoughts, those very words in his mind echoing in his skull as he went over them. Before any disappointment could set into his mind, a few words came back to him in the same loud and slightly growling voice as it had with the previously adopted children.

"_It shall be done."_

Almost immediately after the words had been spoken, a large thud was heard just outside the orphanage. Now these kids had been expecting something to happen now that four had already been adopted in less than ten minutes. But what they did not expect was a rather tall tiger standing with a slightly shorter lioness at the door.

The Tiger wore a black silky jacket over his bare chest, black stripes going across his golden yellow fur in rows underneath the jacket as well as the rest of his body, except his blond hair and white facial and chest fur that is of course. He also dressed in equally black long trousers that fell over his golden coloured work boots. His deep Safire eyes trained on the person behind him, who also was under the gaze of the Lioness. The Lioness wore a plain glossy and smooth red dress with two shoulder straps to keep it above her chest and just below her knees. Dark golden fur lined her body, only her brown tail tuft and dull golden facial fur seemed to be the only colour difference on her body. Her yellow pupils were focused on a pair of three tailed kitsune's behind them; they could have been twins if you didn't happen to know them.

The male kitsune was of a silver metallic shade, his facial and chest fur a lighter shade of silver rather than the common white that most vulpine's shared. He wore the same outfit as the tiger, the very same style vest, trousers and shoes. This kitsune took the appearance of someone younger than the felines, yet it was obvious through the sparkle in his eyes that he was the most intelligent. Yet even so, he had a lot to learn.

The female next to him was a three tailed silver vixen; if the male was suddenly transformed into a female then they would be the exact same person. Her fur was a lot smoother and silky, her frame a quite modest shape for someone of her age, in her early twenties. Though her fur and body suggested she was still in her teens. She wore the same outfit as the lioness, yet her's was a deep navy blue that glinted slightly in the pale moonlight of the area.

Behind those two, were another pair. A yellow twin tailed kitsune along with a light blue twin tailed vixen. The male vulpine had stone black onyx shaded eyes, contrasted to his bright coloured fur. He wore a silver Kame-Senin style gi on his body, a vest made of an almost silky material that crossed together at the waist and tied by a dark silver sash. His bottoms made of the same material, going down to about half a foot from his ankles, where his fighting boots covered them up. On his two wrists were thick dark silver wristbands, about the weight of five pounds for the purpose of extra weight to train in the way of the martial arts. The vixen on the other hand was not at all similar to the lioness and the vixen in front of her. She wore a vibrant yellow kimono, a common Japanese style outfit for women. It was baggy at the bicep's and sank to her waist, which was also tied to her but was with a inch thick white rope made specifically for this, the rest of the dress went to her ankles. Her crystal blue eyes travelled to the male silver kitsune in front of her in annoyance, unable to believe that he had stop here when they were already late; "Kyle! We are going to be really late if we don't go! Why did we stop here?!" she asked irritably, her arms crossing over her chest to show her infuriation.

'Kyle', the male silver kitsune turned to her for a mere three seconds before turning back to the door and a small yellow device in his right hand; "Lily, I found a energy spike in this area. It's not anything I've seen before so it might be dangerous." He explained, even if he found no more energy signal's from his device any more, the LCD screen showing nothing but regular energy readings from the inhabitants.

Lily sighed and turned to the other vixen with a tired expression washing over her face; "Serina, how do you put up with him?" she asked with an insignificant sense of actual curiosity in her voice. She didn't mean to be cruel but she was cranky at being late for the Christmas dinner in the first place.

The silver vixen shook her head once at the question but let out a giggle once gazing upon Kyle knocking the LCD screen repeatedly like it was broken; "Stops my life being dull. Plus having the God of Knowledge as a husband makes a good deal in my opinion. But other than that, I just love him. Do I need a reason Nala?" she asked looking at the lioness by her side, who merely shook her head with a smile.

The tiger knocked on the door near him with a blank expression, he didn't like the idea much either but if his little brother, Kyle, was sure then he could be sure as well that something had drawn them here. He hadn't been wrong once on these types of hunches... The Caretaker opened the door with her face turning red at the sight of them all; she had been woken for the third time that night and was very irritable right now. Without even asking what they wanted, she dragged the Tiger in and opened the door to the main room with the kids, indicating the others to follow.

The twin tailed kitsune had to stop the Lily from attacking the Caretaker as they walked in, knowing quite well of the hidden blade that was never visible to others. What do you expect from someone that came from a Ninja family? Lily groaned when she was told she couldn't cut her head off and glared at her husband with a snarl but it soon turned to a very confused face; "What are you smiling at Tails?" she asked curiously, indeed interested in his answer.

Tails, who was indeed smiling brightly, was looking over her with his Onyx black eyes until he finally spoke; "You look beautiful. But you're cute when you're angry." He explained, bringing his arm around her shoulders and giving her a tight squeeze before letting go so she could have her privacy in the unknown place. Lily blushed furiously at the comment and said no more, her anger quelling rather fast for what she had just been feeling.

All were slightly agitated apart from Lily and Tails yet when they entered the room and saw all the children, their irritation turned instantly to pity. Their gaze turning over the sad excuse for beds, clothing and the small Christmas tree that was broken in half in the corner of the room. Serina and Kyle, in front, walked down to the end beds to where Ryik and Crimson were staring back. Serina took hold of Kyle's arm softly while her eyes were focused on the little silver kitsune in front of them; "Kyle, he looks exactly like you!" she said softly, her gaze never leaving the tiny vulpine.

Kyle bent down to study the fox, yet the two kitsune's together jumped under their pillow from the fright of meeting two strangers. The adult male let out a small chuckle and put his hands under there as well, feeling the soft and almost plushie-like fur underneath. He decided to coax them out with quick strokes of his fingers, only after 15 seconds was he rewards with duel purrs, the vulpine's purring over the tingling feeling of his finger on their fragile flesh. They popped their heads out of the edge of the pillow and found the two adult's smiling down at them. Serina bent down as well to the pair and joined in on the stroking, causing the twins to purr even louder than before, also causing them to wander out and sit comfortably on their backsides.

Ryik brought his eyes to the male kitsune above him and blinked in confusion, his eyes taking in everything about him; "A-are you my dad? You look like me!" he said softly, though he was getting excited quickly since he thought he knew where this would come up as.

The adult's took a quick, confused look at each other and seemed to have a mental conversation with one another. This also befuddled the two children between them so they tried doing it themselves, only to find they received a headache from staring too hard in each other's eyes. Kyle smiled after they had finished and bent his arms down to the miniature version of himself; "Of course, we better get to the party soon. I bet they would like cake." He laughed, cuddling the small child to his chest, which the silver cub returned happily but only after he got over his shock and rush of energy from his joy.

The pink cub under them sniffled at the sight, a thought running through her mind of Ryik leaving with a new family and leaving her alone. She couldn't take it, it was all too much. Ryik was the only family she had and to have him taken from her, the only one she had left, was heartbreaking. Crimson began to feel tears reach her eyes until she found herself being lifted into the air by the silver vixen. Serina took the kit and held her close to her heart with a warm feeling spreading in her chest; "Hey, what's the matter? We won't forget about you." She promised, bringing her face down and began muzzling the cub's chest fur which made Crimson giggle and squirm in laughter.

The tiger looked at his younger brother for a moment before he heard his wife speak to him from across the room, she was bending down in front of Emerald the Vixen; "Hey Adam, can you come here for the moment?" she asked, though her voice sounded as if it was going to croak at any moment. From closer inspection, he found that Nala had been crying for some reason.

Adam quickly dashed over and bent down to the pair of girls before speaking, a worried expression on his face; "What's wrong honey?" he asked softly, holding Nala softly in a one armed hug.

A whine came from Nala's throat before she got the chance to answer, she was obviously upset about something; "Adam, I'd like to adopt Emerald. She was tormented as an experiment as a little girl and from it she doesn't have much time left. Can we give her a good time before that happens? She has... Cancer. From Chaos Radiation." She explained softly, bringing her hand forward to the green vixen, who immediately cradled herself close to Nala's body for warmth. Emerald was beginning to cry as well from the fact that she was going to die sooner than she was supposed to... But a fierce blaze erupted within Adam's eyes, he would not let this happen. No matter what. No innocent child should suffer such a fate... Adam placed his spare hand onto Emeralds head, where a pulse of light erupted from it so that multiple thick waves of light energy spread over her entire body. Yet within her, cancerous cells were currently burning in the wrath of the tiger's energy. Light spreading through every vein and sinew until no damaging cell existed inside of her, the rage of Adam's 'Judgement' attack took a different form to help those that were in need.

The man removed his hand slowly, to the confusing glares of his wife and new child; "It has been done, I have killed the cancerous cells. I also have completed the ritual... Hello my daughter, the Godling of Forgiveness." He said softly; bringing the two into a tight hug. Emerald didn't understand a word of it but got the meaning of them anyway, she had a family and was not going to die. Her father saved her. Nala on the other hand was still crying, but in joy rather than sadness. She finally had a baby girl to call her own... Adam then received a message in his mind, realising what he had done. But it wasn't regret, he had to laugh softly at the thought; "Won't Zero be happy. Looks like we found the perfect gift not only for him, but for us all." He said happily, tightening the hug gently before standing up, letting the mother and daughter have their time alone.

Tails and Lily on meanwhile sat down in front of Tod and Vixie. Tails was currently hugging the life out of Tod, who was happily returning it. Lily couldn't help but ask the question that made her confusion level skyrocket through the roof; "Uh, Honey? What are you doing?" she asked, her left eyebrow raised as she watched the scene before her.

Tails gave out a chuckle and released the cub, who promptly sat on his backside with his red tail swishing behind his lazily, his legs crossed over themselves so that he looked like a toddler waiting for Tails to begin reading a story to him. The twin tailed kitsune smiled warmly at the kit before answering; "He was cuddly. Have a look around Lily; is this the type of place to raise a child? You know how I feel about orphans." He said softly, his grin slowly forming into a pout at the memories of his own days as an orphan on Westside Island.

Lily didn't even ask any more questions, she was thinking of the same thing. She was alone until Aura had found her and it hurt to see the kids in this situation. But it was not just this that drove her heart to melt for them. Both Tod and Vixie's eyes widened considerably and they whined cutely, their eyes shining like they were wet. Another whine escaped their lips as the lower half began to tremble slightly, like they were going to burst into tears at any moment.

The two adult vulpine cast one look at each other before grinning madly, knowing the right thing to do in this situation. Like they could even resist their 'Puppy Dog Eyes of Doom' trick. They lunged forward and ensnared the cubs who immediately started giggling at the act, they brought them to the beds and started tickling them madly so that they couldn't stop squirming under their wrath. They could have gone for a lot longer yet after two minutes; Lily ceased and stood up quickly; "The party! Tails, go get everyone else. I'll get the adoption papers." She instructed then shot out the door before the twin tailed male could say otherwise. Tails rolled his eyes in amusement at his wife's antics then followed her instructions. In only a matter of minutes, Tails, Kyle, Adam, Lily, Serina and Nala were packed into two different jets, ready to take off with their new children consisting of Crimson, Ryik, Emerald, Tod and Vixie.

All that was left was Xera.

Xera looked around the room in sadness, being the first to arrive she didn't expect to be the last to go. She even believed that she would be the first, yet of course this didn't happen. Now she was all alone on Christmas Eve, about a minute to midnight. She couldn't wait any longer, even if she didn't believe in Santa. She would try now.

She took a deep breath and began to recite not only in her mind but in words speaker from her lips as well; "Dear Santa, I have seen my brothers and sister leave this place happy and with new parents to give them a second chance. I know that I didn't believe that you existed but I really do now. What happened tonight is proof enough. Please Santa, I want a home too. I want a mom and dad that would love me no matter what. I don't want to be alone... Plea-" she was about to finish before the clock out in the hallway chimed loudly, signalling that it was 12:01. One minute after midnight. When the wishing ends.

Xera sniffled at the sound, she couldn't finish her wish and that meant that she wouldn't get anything from the Father of Christmas this year. She could try again next year but that meant being alone with the old Caretaker and doing all the household chores that she couldn't be bothered doing herself all alone with no help what-so-ever. Her sniffle turned to a sob while her eyes filled with tears, she couldn't hold any of the neglect she felt her whole life any longer and flung down to her pillow, her fresh tears staining the fabric underneath.

Outside, the sounds of the heartbroken girl's cries carried to the rooftop, where a shadowy figure stood with an odd object in his hands. He raised his arm, it being a strange tint of blue, to reveal a red coloured gemstone cut into the style of an emerald. The being looked up slightly to the sky, glinting black eyes shining through the darkness as he muttered something that could make it all better; "I may be no Santa or Shenron, but I can grant your wish Xera."

"CHAOS CONTROL!"

The fox/wolf felt a tug on her body, her entire body feeling weightless before she felt a sharp pain in her back. Flipping upright, she found herself on the stone path to a log cabin in the forest area of some place she wasn't sure of. With curiosity, she wandered to the window of the log cabin to find a male light bluish grey Fox/Wolf packing up the table to a Christmas Eve dinner or something similar. On the table however was a turkey skeleton with pieces of meat still hanging off of it. A loud growl from Xera's stomach was sent ripping through the air to her embarrassment, causing irrational behaviour or her part. She hadn't eaten a hot meal in a good while so she did the one thing that might get her in serious trouble... She tried to steal some of the food. Silently she climbed in the open window when the Fox/Wolf's back was turned, using her smaller frame to her advantage as she came in without even a small squeak.

She grinned widely and made a grab for the turkey but a large strong hand gripped her wrist before even coming an inch to a hanging bit of skin! Xera quickly whipped her head to the furious face of the adult, who looked murderous that someone had the nerve to try and steal from his home. Yet when realising that the thief was a mere child, his anger lessoned considerably but was still evident in his strong and rough voice pattern; "Who are you?" he asked firmly, keeping a strong grip on Xera's wrist.

Xera whimpered at the voice, knowing she was in serious trouble. She knew better than to ignore the question given by an adult so she tried to gather her wits and speak but it was proving difficult; "X-Xera, S-s-sir." She stuttered, looking into his eyes with evident fear placed inside of them.

The full grown Fox/Wolf nodded once at the answer but lifted her into the air y her arm, so they could see eye to eye; "And where is your parent's?" he asked, still ticked at the fact she tried to steal from him. He didn't know that this would normally hurt a child by doing this.

At the mention of her parents, or lack thereof, Xera immediately began to feel tears coming to her eyes and a few leaking down her face; "I... I don't have any. I have no mommy, no daddy and no brothers or sisters. I got nobody." She sniffled softly, her gaze dropping to the floor with wet, salty tears cascading down her face and onto the wooden floor beneath her in her silent bawl. Though as she did, she found the ground came near to her location of being suspended into the air and gently landed on the ground, the Fox/Wolf letting go of her wrist to bend down to her level.

The Fox/Wolf's name was Zephyr, little did he knew that he was looking at his Half-Daughter. Xera was the child of Zephkuda, formed by residue energy of the powerful being. Bakuda was the other Half-Father. Even though he was unaware of her lineage, he did however feel a strange bond with her. He didn't know why he did it but placed it under the 'Christmas Spirit' excuse in his mind that he usually had for doing odd things he usually didn't. All the same, he held out a small plate with a rather large portion of turkey meat on its base; "Hey, Don't cry. I'm sorry I got mad at you, are you okay?" he asked softly, his voice having changed to a gruff and serious voice to a calm and concerned tone.

Xera looked up at Zephyr above her, since he was much taller than she was, and took the plate silently. After staring at the food like it was from outer space, she wolfed it down with the skill of her forefather's in only a matter of moments. Realising what she had done, she blushed and looked at the ground again, ashamed of herself; "Sorry, Sir." She muttered, moving her feet slightly in her mortification. Although what she didn't expect because of it was an embrace from the adult! She dropped the empty plate to the ground and wrapped her arms around his waist on reaction.

Zephyr held onto her gently and whispered into her ear the one thing that could have changed his life that night. He took hold of what he believed his heart was telling his and asked her; "Do you want me to be your dad?"

Xera couldn't believe her ears, the same question she was just asked ringing through her mind several times before she accepted that it was indeed the thing that he had asked and not something else. She looked up from his chest and to his face, a small smile on her face while she gave a small nod, burying her face once more into his chest. Somehow, on the clock near them it gave one last chime to signal 12:00 AM where it had been 12:01 when Xera was transported.

The two looked at each other for a split second before both received wide grins and strengthened their embrace with each other. A true miracle occurring in their household. No. All over the world. Xera opened her mouth and said the same thing all the other adopted children said to their new parent's that night.

"Merry Christmas."

As well as saying in their minds, who they believed to be the giver of their new hope.

"_Thank you Santa."_

**This is the time to Give, Forgive, and spread the Joy and Hope around.**

**Merry Christmas to all!**

**Bakuda**


End file.
